On What It Is, Houston, TX troubadour Hayes Carll is leaving the past behind. "I want to dig in so this life doesn't just pass me by. The more engaged I am the more meaning it all has. I want that to be reflected in the work," Carll says. Carll returned to trusted producer Brad Jones (producer of 2008's Trouble in Mind and 2011's KMAG YOYO) and Alex the Great Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, to record the 12-track collection, and recruited singer-songwriter, author, and fiancee Allison Moorer as co-producer.

The production is adventurous while keeping the focus on the singer and his songs and providing a path for him to go where he wants to go. Where that is, is forward. What It Is covers a broad range of topics both timely and constant; the desire to bridge the country's political divide, the ups and downs of relationships, and the challenge to stay present in your life as it goes by. What It Is continues the artistic risk-taking initiated by 2016's Lovers and Leavers; his voice is strong and assured, and his songwriting as truthful as ever.

On the rambunctious, fiddle-punctuated, "Times Like These," he laments political division in America while delivering a rapid-fire plea to "do my labor, love my girl, and help my neighbor, while keeping all my joie de vivre." Carll's signature cleverness and aptitude for so-personal-you-might-miss-it political commentary is as strong as ever. The stark, "Fragile Men," co-written with singer-songwriter Lolo, uses humor and dripping sarcasm to examine his gender's resistance to change in less than three minutes of string-laden, almost Jacques Brel invoking drama. It's new musical territory for Carll, and the result is powerful. His voice is strong and resonant on these songs, and it's thrilling to hear him use it with a new authority. He is alternately commanding and tender, yet always soulful.